CGC Cards Featured Card of the Month: 2017-18 Donruss Optic #198 Jayson Tatum

2017-18 Donruss Optic #198 Jayson Tatum Click images to enlarge.

Sport: Basketball

Set: 2017-18 Donruss Optic

Card: #198 Jayson Tatum

What makes it special? After attending Duke University for only one season, Jayson Tatum made the jump to the pros, declaring for the 2017 NBA Draft. The Boston Celtics selected the 19-year-old small forward from St. Louis with the No. 3 overall pick and it didn't take him long to make an impact. Tatum recorded a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) in his NBA debut and would go on to be named the Eastern Conference's Rookie of the Month for December 2017. Boston earned the second seed in the playoffs that season and once again, Tatum recorded a double-double (19 points and 10 rebounds) in his first-ever NBA playoff game. At the end of the season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Since Tatum joined the Celtics, Boston has made the playoffs each season, going to the Eastern Conference Finals three times and the NBA Finals once out of the team's last six playoff runs. They've been one of the most consistent teams in the NBA and are now perennial contenders to make the Finals. Tatum has blossomed into one of the brightest stars in the NBA, earning five All-Star Game selections, an All-Star Game MVP award and two All-NBA First Team selections.

Once again, the Celtics are in charge of the Eastern Conference this season, leading the East by 13 games in early April and earning the best record in the entire league by seven games. They look poised for another deep playoff run, with Tatum at the helm, as Boston will attempt to win the franchise's 18th NBA title and its first since 2008.

Did you know? During his first NBA season and first playoff appearance, Jayson Tatum joined rare company. In Game 1 of Boston's second round matchup, he scored a then-playoff-career-high 28 points, becoming the first Celtics rookie to put up 25 or more points in a playoff game since Larry Bird. Tatum scored another 21 points in Game 2, becoming the youngest player ever to score at least 20 points in four straight playoff games, which was previously held by Kobe Bryant.

In Game 3, the young Celtics forward scored 24 points, becoming the first rookie in Boston to score 20 points or more in five straight playoff games. By the end of Tatum's first playoffs, he joined NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only rookies in NBA playoff history to score 20 or more points in 10 games during their first playoff appearances.

Total graded by CGC Cards: There are numerous examples of Jayson Tatum's Rated Rookie card from the 2017-18 Donruss Optic set, including several parallels in different colors and two autographed parallels, as well. Of the base Optic #198 version, there are 170 graded examples of the standard card in the CGC Cards Population Report, as of early April 2024. CGC Cards has also graded 11 different parallels of the same card, including the Red & Yellow (78), Shock (37), Holo (18), Blue Velocity (5), Lime Green (2), Purple (2), Fast Break (1), Fast Break Red (1), Fast Break Purple (1), Rated Rookie Signatures (1) and Blue Signatures (1) inserts.

LEFT: 2017-18 Donruss Optic #198 Jayson Tatum - Red & Yellow RIGHT: 2017-18 Donruss Optic #198 Jayson Tatum - Shock Click images to enlarge.

CGC Cards median grade: CGC 9

CGC Cards highest graded: Out of 170 graded examples, there no standard Optic #198 cards with a grade of CGC Pristine 10. There are 51 base examples graded CGC Gem Mint 10 though, as well as seven other parallels graded CGC Gem Mint 10 — the Red & Yellow (31), Shock (17), Blue Velocity (4), Holo (3), Lime Green (2), Fast Break (1) and Fast Break Rated Rookie (1) inserts.

Sales highlights: An example of the Optic #198 - Red & Yellow graded CGC Gem Mint 10 realized $96 through PWCC in May 2023.

CGC Cards Sports Registry: The card is part of this company set: 2017-18 Donruss Optic, which currently has 11 competitors. It is also part of the Tatum Players Set, which has 38 competitors. Collector Reimold34 has assembled a Player Set called Jayson Tatum that has amassed more than 14,000 points and includes the 2017-18 Donruss Optic #198 Jayson Tatum - Holo graded CGC Gem Mint 10. Reimold34's collection of Tatum rookie cards earned him first place in the Competing Player Sets and the Best in Set Type distinction.

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